An Unlikely Friend (a PMD Short) (On Hiatus)
by IllusionWriter
Summary: A teenage girl is pursued by Dusknoir to be eliminated. After being separated from Grovyle and Celebi, she meets a rouge Sableye who is more of a friend than she could have ever imagined. Together, they must endure hardships and find their way back to her companions.
1. Run·a·way

Thunder clasped in the sky following the slithers of lightning that came before it. In the forest that was being assaulted by the downpour of drenching rain, were three fleeing figures. They ran and ran, hoping to get away for whatever the reason.

"Hurry Angel! Pick up the pace!" one of the figures shouted out behind him.

"I'm r-running as fast as I can!" a feminine voice yelled back, struggling at best to keep up as her feet pounded against the wet, muddy ground. Her crystal sword jingled in the sheath case that was strapped over her shoulder.

Lightning struck out from the clouds and downwards, clashing with one of the many trees of the forest. The area was lit well enough for the time being, giving a chance for the chased to be seen. In the lead was a Grovyle, it's hand waving for it's two companions to hurry up. Behind it was a pink Celebi and a teenaged human girl.

"Come on, Angel, were almost out. We can lose them...just keep running!" Celebi assured the teen, giving her a faint smile. A smile she knew was forced.

" **Are you sure about that?** "

The Celebi was left confused by the sudden words, knowing they didn't leave Angel's mouth, only to run head-first into Grovyle's back. "Youch! Hey, Why'd ya sto-"

Celebi noticed that Grovyle had remained unmoved, choosing to continue to stare out in front of him.

Angel frowned at his partner's silence (as if she wasn't doing so already). "Hey, Grovyle? What's the big holdup?"

Grovyle flinched slightly, slowly turning towards her with worried eyes that seemed to be trying their best not to blink. "They're here."

"What!? N-no freaking way! We had to have outrun them by now!" Angel shouted in disappointed anger, her exhaustion now catching up with her.

" **And that's where your wrong, my dear.** " the mysterious voice spoke once more.

 _I knew it!_ Celebi thought sharply to herself. _That voice! I-it's Dusknoir's!_

Grovyle swiftly turned his head in every direction, trying to pinpoint exactly where the voice originated from. Suddenly, rustling could be heard in every direction, the bushes all around them starting to shake. "SHOW YOURSELF!" Grovyle yelled furiously, the leaf blades that branched from his arms now glowing an emerald green.

Only silence was present for the next few seconds before Grovyle's demands were finally met.

" **Very well.** "

About seven feet in front of them, a shadowy figure slowly rose from out of the ground, only to change into a solid form. A large pokemon with one eye now stood before them.

"Dusknoir." Grovyle silently spat out, as if mentioning his name aloud would cast a curse on them.

"Well, well? Now, look at the three of you. You've managed to get this far- now I'm a bit impressed." Dusknoir admitted bemusedly, sweeping his hand forward to call forth his henchman.

The bushes that shook all around them earlier suddenly had Sableye rushing out of them, surrounding the defending three in a circular formation.

Celebi hovered closer to Angel in an attempt to keep her safer in defense, while Angel reached behind her and unsheathed the sword from it's case, holding it tightly in her hands. Hands that were visibly shaking.

"Ugh...how many are there?" Angel asked worriedly, her eyes darting around to see if any of the Sableye would attack. The pink Celebi turned around in a 360 degree spin, slowly accessing the number of Sableye that surrounded them.

Celebi visibly shook with a extremely worried expression on her face. " _Too many..."_ she whispered incoherently.

"How many, Celebi!?" Angel asked again, her anger rising unintentionally due to the panicked situation they were in.

Celebi fearfully shot her eyes back at the teenaged girl. "T-twenty-six! There's twenty six of them! I-I'm sorry Angel..." Celebi pressed her hands boldly against her head and closed her eyes tightly. The pressure was finally getting to her.

Angel immediately noticed her mistake, and lowered her sword slightly. "Celebi...I-I'm so-"

Dusknoir couldn't help but chuckle at the emotions unfolding in front of them."Ha! This is ALL very touching, but can we please get on with the show?" the one-eyed Pokemon said humorously to them.

"If that's what you want...then it's what you'll get!" Angel yelled as a great amount a energy she had been storing up was spent dashing at a fast speed past the offending Sableye and straight at Dusknoir. She raised her sword above her head and struck down at him, the crystal sword glowing a bright sapphire.

Dusknoir caught the blade just as it was about to slash at his neck, and held it firmly in his hand. However, Angel didn't stop there. Immediately after, her right hand let go of the sword and with all she had left, launched it at Dusknoir.

Without trouble, the Dusknoir caught her speeding fist, bending it towards her.

"Arrghh!" Angel grunted in reaction to the slight, sharp pain that came next. Dusknoir laughed darkly at her last attempt, the Sableye around them all joining in.

"Why don't you give up? Your petty attempts at heroics are going to get you nowhere...even with a sword made by **Dialga** himself." Angel only growled back.

But then he purposed something else.

"Say, why _do_ you hang around these failures of the future?" Dusknoir asked with a seemingly genuine curiosity.

Angel's anger quickly turned to one of confusion, the shadow Pokemon loosening his grip on her balled-up fist.

"What?"

Dusknoir continued to explain. "Why resist us? The darkness is easily in the advantage, and the new Dialga isn't going to cease his plan...the phase of distorted time will not stop. So why don't you just join us, Angel?"

"What!? NO! Don't listen to him Angel! You have a promise to keep, remember?" Celebi reminded her, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Don't worry, I have no such plans to join this dimwit and that overgrown stomach of his!" Angel proclaimed back, her frown etching into that of a smile. _Something both Grovyle and Celebi haven't seen in what seemed like ages._

Celebi smiled right back, a genuine smile that showed glimpses of her once peppy and upbeat attitude coming back.

Dusknoir, however, wasn't sharing the same mood.

"Very well, foolish human. How do you like the sound of...might I say _torture_? Spend the rest of your pathetic lives in a cage?" Dusknoir offered dryly, which sent a cold chill down Angel's back.

Grovyle, careful not to hit his comrade, stepped forward and launched a Razor Leaf attack at the Dusknoir, which he took surprisingly well. Dusknoir reflexively let go of her hand, causing her to stumble backwards onto her back.

"Your going to have to kill us right here and now if you want to accomplish anything." Grovyle shot back.

"That really shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Angel rose back on her feet and backed away as Dusknoir stepped closer to the three, cracking it's neck from left to right as if to relive any stressed muscles. "Now, Sableye...tear them to shreds!"

"Weheheheh!"

The Sableye grew in closer to Grovyle and Celebi while some slowly crept towards Angel, who was now outside of the "Sableye formation". Angel readied herself to take on the advancing enemies, but found herself unable to defend herself properly, given Dusknoir still had her sword.

Almost on cue, the sapphire sword began to glow a bright pink, slightly confusing Dusknoir as he observed it.

"Hmm? What's th-Aruughh!"

In a matter of seconds, the sword was wrenched from the Dusknoir's hands and levitated back over in front of Angel's face. Grabbing the sword with her two hands, she looked at Celebi with a slightly dumbfounded look.

Celebi, whose hands were surrounded by the same pink aura, gave her a welcoming wink.

" _Celebi...your powers are coming back!"_ Angel thought to herself cheerily.

Dusknoir gripped his sore wrist with his other hand, staring at the Celebi with a bloodcurdling glare. "Sableye...KILL THEM!"

The Sableye menacingly grew closer. Angel, who was now a good fifteen feet away from her comrades, knew that the sheer amount of Sableye would not allow them to regroup together again.

For the three, it was now or never.

"Celebi!?" Grovyle shouted, rummaging through his sash for something. "Yup?" Celebi replied almost nonchalantly, which surprised him a bit.

"Remember the escape plan we rehearsed?"

"Sure do!"

Finally finding what he needed, Grovyle pulled out a blast seed and threw it at Dusknoir, who didn't have time to react. It hit him head on in the face, sending him reeling back.

"Do it now, Celebi!" Grovyle ordered, running towards Angel.

"Alright! Flash!" Celebi screamed, a bright, hot-white light overwhelming the whole league of Sableye, causing them to cower and recollect themselves.

"We won't get another chance at this guys, let's go!" Angel reminded them, moving into a sprint away from the ambush as she saw Grovyle and Celebi following from behind.

"NOT SO FAST!" a dark voice called out from behind them. Before they could turn to towards the bellowing voice, a dark ball of pure energy was sent crashing between Angel and the two pokemon, sending them in separate directions.

" **YOU ARE NOT ESCAPING TODAY!** "

Knowing that they were too far away to regroup once more, Grovyle screamed at his human companion to run.

"Angel, run away! We'll meet up again soon! But we'll have to lose Dusknoir first!"

Without anytime to think, Angel sprinted further into the forest, the pouring rain tapping against her skin as she fled. She could hear a feint ' _boom_ ' in the distance behind her. Then another. And another.

Although she was admittedly thinking the worst, she purposed a more positive suggestion. _Maybe that's Grovyle throwing more Blast Seeds...or him launching his Leaf Blades...or..._

Angel was nearly at the brink of tears. Ever since her arrival in this dimension, nothing seemed to be going right. Well not all the time. She met good friends and found hope that maybe, _**just maybe**_ , there would be some way to stop Primal Dialga's reign of destruction and terror.

 _But everything changed when that...that twisted bastard Dragalge...lied to everyone and told them that I was the cause of the destruction...and anyone who had sided with me was seen as the enemy as well..._

 _Grovyle..._

 _Celebi..._

 _Maylene..._

Angel hadn't seen the Haxorus in a long time, ever since she was captured by the now **Primal** Dialga's special forces regime; the Excaliburs. She had in exchange gave them her cooperation in exchange for Grovyle's, Celebi's and Angel's escape.

She had posed as their allies for a good while before being discovered.

"Weheheheh!"

Angel's memories were promptly disrupted as she heard the feint laughter. "Oh no...they tracked me!" she quietly screamed as she rose from her kneeling position and started to dash.

"Oh man, I hope Grovyle and Celebi are safe...and Maylene...please be alright." Angel silently prayed as she began to pick up speed in her run.

~X **End of Chapter I** X~


	2. Rem·i·nisce

"Weheheheheh!"

The sound of the maniacal laughter continued to get farther and farther, and Angel refused to move a single muscle until the crazed Sableye were completely out of sight. After the last of the group were finally out of her vision, she relaxed and settled herself in the gaps of the thick tree branches. With the recent halting of the rain, evading capture had been made exponentially easier.

When she was sure that it was safe, she carefully slid her legs out to drop from the fairly large tree. _"Now that I think about it...how did I get all the way up here? This tree IS pretty tall."_ Angel thought to herself, mentally chuckling at how afraid she had to have been to have adrenaline capable of this.

Quickly bringing herself back into the reality of her situation, she presumed to wiggle herself out of the tree. As she did, her left foot slipped out before she could correct herself and fell out unintentionally. "Oh, fuck!"

Her instinct to grab onto anything at all to help stop her fall immediately took effect, and out of a pure chance of luck, her right hand grabbed a branch just on time. The gravity of the decent made her swing forward on the branch and nearly sent her flying forward. She intuitively tightened her grip on the branch, effectively keeping her hold on the branch solid. However, the effort earned her hand a burn from the friction.

She let go and landed onto the ground less than gracefully, examining her stinging injury. " Far less worse than getting caught by those little demons..." she sighed humorously to herself. Taking a needed deep breath, she rose from the kneeling position and continued to walk, hoping to find some sort of miracle. Grovyle's foot trails in the mud...a path out of the forest...anything.

Sighing once more, she reluctantly dragged herself forward.

...

35 minutes had passed since Angel's close encounter with the Sableye. She tiredly carried on, her legs threatening to give out from under her as they pounded against the wet soil and grass. "Where the heck are they!?" Angel accidentally said aloud. If she had to be honest, she really didn't care if anyone heard her. She had lost everything. Her friends, her home...

The only things she really had were the clothes on her back and her sword. "Man...nearly forgot about this..." she said to herself as she unsheathed it and held it loosely in her hands. The sword was about four-feet long, and had a light-sapphire tint to it. The design pattern that was exquisitely engraved into it matched the original Dialga's. She remembered the story behind how she got it very clearly...

 _ **The Fortitude Tower, 4 weeks earlier.**_

" _Right this way."_

 _Up the spiraled stairs the four went, finally arriving at it's end at the top. A Haxorus led them, Grovyle, Celebi and Angel following suit. "Where exactly are you taking us?" The Haxorus stopped, turning her head around briefly before continuing again. "Please Angel, all will be revealed once we enter."_

 _The Haxorus led them down another corridor to a rather large, dungeon-styled door. There were two Escavalier standing guard on both sides of the entrance to the well-defended room. "No wonder there are nearly triple the guards on this floor..."_ Angel thought to herself as she noticed the two guards bow to the Haxorus, stepping aside to let her enter.

Grabbing the two handles, she pulled the double-doors towards her, opening the group to an revealingly amazing sight. Shields were hung on the walls of the fairly large room, swords, and crossbows stored in racks properly built to specifically house them respectively. Grovyle walked up to the sword rack collection, Mesmerized by the foreign weapons. Celebi trailed behind to join him. "W-where did these come from?" Grovyle asked the Haxorus, slowly trailing his hand down one of the blade's smooth surfaces.

The Axe Jaw Pokémon turned to Grovyle, immediately acknowledging his interest. She approached him, grabbing one of the swords and sliding it out in a swift fashion. "There has been a history of humans who have come here to this world..." The Haxorus made a few quick swipes with the blade before lowering it and offering it to Angel. She hesitatingly took the sword into her hands, examining it for herself. "The first thing I thought of when I saw these were 'humans'...hey Maylene?"

The Haxorus, now identified as Maylene, stood ready for her question. "Yes, what is it?"

Angel knew that her question would probably be a shot in the dark. Sighing softly, she finally asked. "Have you ever...met another human that came into this world?" Maylene lowered her head slightly, raising it moments later to answer her. "Yes...there was one that I came to knowing...but that was some time ago...he is...no longer with us." Celebi shook her head in disbelief. "You mean-" Celebi began. But the pink Time Travel Pokemon knew it was best not to push any further.

"So these swords were crafted as a defense for any humans that came here?" Grovyle guessed. Haxorus carefully slid the sword she was holding back into it's rack. "Correct. However, these are the only ones that there are. Most humans who come here are transformed into Pokemon, so they really have no need to use these. It's a bit worrying to me though, I admit."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"I would really hate for these weapons to be used on another Pokemon again.."

Angel nodded in understanding. "I can see how you would think that."

The Haxorus store into her eyes briefly before turning away, walking to the very end of the room."Come you three, follow me." she told them. Following what her words instructed, Grovyle, Celebi, and Angel approached behind her, wondering what else was to be discovered. Letting out a short sigh, Maylene put her clawed hands against the brick wall in front of her, feeling around for something. "Oh, wait...don't tell me. Is it a secret passage?" Celebi guessed, giggling at the cliche of it all.

Maylene let out a small smile at her comment, finally finding the right space and pushing against a particular brick. The brick immediately moved forward into the wall and the secret passage revealed itself, the well-hidden room now available to them. However, the only thing that was present inside of the hidden room was a unique sword resting on a sword plaque that was mounted against the wall. Angel and her companions saw that the secret room wasn't all that big either, assuming it was made with the sole purpose of housing this particular sword.

And the sword...Angel was immediately mesmerized by it's appearance. The blade was a light-blue that seemed to be...made of diamond? It emitted a soft sky-blue aura that made it stand out in the slightly darkened room. "Oh my...gosh. Who made this?" Angel asked, not daring to take her eyes off of the spectacle in front of her. Without saying a word, Maylene took Angel's hand and led her inside, approaching the sword in all of it's glory. She then proceeded to place her hand onto the sword's hilt, letting it go. Angel watched in awe as it glew brighter in response.

"M-Maylene? Care to explain?" Grovyle asked, the glow of the sword filling his eyes.

The Haxorus turned to Grovyle before bringing her attention back to the human. "Long ago, there was a human that, unlike most, came through our dimension without transforming into a Pokemon..." Angel carefully took the sword off of it's mount and held it in her hands, still dumbstruck by it's beauty. "...While Primal Dialga was in his early time of reign, a miracle occurred..." Maylene continued. "A time ripple tore through the present time and through this tear appeared Dialga...the real, benevolent Dialga. He showed himself to the chosen one...a human named Skye. He stated that he didn't have much time as his presence in a time period with both of the same being would cause even more disastrous effects to the cosmos. He created this sword for him and intended for it to be passed down to those worthy of it."

Angel looked up at Maylene, now putting some of the pieces together.

"So, you're saying that this sword is the key to defeating Primal Dialga?" the teenaged human asked, holding the blade upwards slightly.

"Correct," Maylene confirmed. "He explained to the human that he needed to reverse Primal Dialga's effect on time...and to do that, he would need to plunge the sword into his center...the diamond that resides on his chest. This is Primal Dialga's weak-spot. And only that sword can properly penetrate it. Sadly, this human failed...and so the opportunity stands open."

Stepping out of the secret room, Maylene turned back towards them, specifically at Angel. "Please, Angel...take that sword and protect it with your life. But don't be afraid to use it. It won't shoot magical beams out of it's tip, but it is surely a weapon to be feared. Use it wisely, for even I am not fully sure of its full capacity."

As Grovyle, Celebi and Angel followed the Haxorus out of the weaponry room, Grovyle couldn't help but point something out that was on his mind. "Those weapons...the one apart from the one Dialga made...those were there to convince anyone who found them that those were all there were, right?"

Maylene chuckled at his precise observation. "You are completely right. If anyone ever raided this tower and broke into this room, they would be so focused on these weapons that it would be likely that they'd never think to look elsewhere for the one we had hidden. But as for that sword...I am confident it is in good hands." Maylene said as she looked down at Angel, who was still studying the sword, oblivious to what they were talking about.

feeling her stare, the human quickly snapped her eyes up to the Haxorus, scratching her head in embarrassment. "Uh, yeah! Sure! In good hands...definitely."

Grovyle and Celebi both sweat-dropped, their eyes narrowed at Angel.

...

...

Angel brung herself out of her daydreaming and realized how long she had been looking back at the past. "Man, I'm surprised my legs didn't give out on me as I was dosing off." she said to herself. Giving out a sigh, she sulked forward through the damp forest, hoping that some sign of hope would rear itself in front of her.

 **~ X End of Chapter II X ~**


	3. Res·cue

_This forest is making me depressed._

For almost another 10 minutes, Angel traversed her way through the collection of trees and vegetation. She moved overgrowing plants and bushes out of her way as she spotted something quite new.

The teen made her way to the beginning of a particularly unique passage, the trees parting way and forming a more linear, clear path through the center. "Oh, perfect! Just what I need!" Angel vocally rejoiced as she chose to take the narrow road. However, it wasn't very long before she took in the abnormality of it all.

"Wait," she said, stopping to think.

 _This path has to lead out...otherwise, why would this be here? I haven't seen a structured pathway in this forest since...never!_

Inwardly determined, she continued her journey through the continuous path the trees parted to pave for her. She could practically see the light at the end of the forested pathway, the illumination motivating her to move faster. Without another word, she began to sprint, the light growing a bit closer and brighter with every new pair of steps she took.

She was finally going to leave this accursed maze trap. However, as she was running forward, she noticed a silhouette-like mass proceed to block out most of the light's rays. _What the..._

It wasn't long before she saw the silhouette break into four parts. _Oh, no...someone's coming!_

Angel immediately parted from the pathway and ran behind a tree, pressing herself tightly against it. She stood with her arms stiffly together by her sides as close as she could in her best efforts to stay hidden. She could already hear the voices growing closer. "Please...please don't notice me...please..." she pleaded with herself as the unknown beings were just a good 10 feet away.

"Need I remind you all, this is the only way out of this forest for miles. We're going to fan out and search the area ahead, got it?" a deep voice ordered, immediately sending chills down Angel's spine.

 _I know that voice...no,no,no,no...please tell me this isn't happening._

"Got it, sir."

"Fine."

" **Yes, as you wish.** "

However, it was that one voice in particular.

" _No, I have to see for myself!"_

Reluctantly, Angel slowly turned her head out from behind the tree; just enough to get a decent look at the party. And there they were. "Just my luck. The Excaliburs!" she unintentionally whispered to herself.

Walking through the path were four different types of Pokemon. A Treverant, Haxorus, Gallade, and lastly, the leader, a Zoroark. They were all donning red capes with their signature insignia- a glowing, aqua-blue eye with two swords crossed behind it.

"And.. _.Maylene_ too. They've still got her under their control. Crap!"

She got a better look at her long-lost friend from the distance and could see good enough to notice the glazed-over look the Haxorus was giving off. As much as she missed her, she couldn't bear to keep her eyes on Maylene in her current state any longer.

"We'll continue out from here and begin our search inwards. From there, we'll split and search independently. Is that understood?" the Zoroark said in a stern tone. The search party nodded in understanding and began marching forward the same way Angel had entered. A heavy weight had lifted off of her shoulders as they made their way further and further away. However, an overwhelming dread quickly took it's place as she realized that this would probably have been the last time she'd ever see Maylene in a long time.

With her shoulders slumped and tears threatening to fall, she nearly stumbled as she brung herself out from hiding and back on the pathway. She too a moment to clear her mind and focus on now.

Quietly, she began walking down it towards the light at the end. It was only then that she actually found the time to appreciate the greenery and plant life around her. The alluring flowers and trees were rich of color, reminding her of spring.

"I gotta keep moving." Angel reminded herself verbally as she continued to walk, now a bit faster, further down the path.

She was only a good minute away from finally reaching the exit when she noticed the abundance of roundish-red objects hanging from the remaining trees in front of her. It took a second before she realized what they were.

"Apples!" Angel exclaimed, running up to the nearest tree and gazing upwards. Her smile quickly ceased as she realized a problem. The branches brandishing the apples were about 5 feet higher than she was. A sudden growling took effect inside of her stomach.

" _Just great."_

She looked around and observed the other trees that were accessorized with apples. There were a few that were shorter, but still not enough to reach without...

" _Ugh, I have to climb the trees!"_

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Angel took pounding, agitated steps towards the closest apple tree and grumpily wrapped her arms around it. Lucky for her, the tree's body wasn't very wide and her arms could adjust as needed. she used her shoes as a means for pushing herself upwards. As she was doing so, she heard rustling come form behind her as the noised moved to the tree she was climbing.

She made a mental note to keep aware on any creature trying to get the drop on her, or just in general. Almost there, she was, finally reaching a branch that jutted out at an angle that slanted towards the ground. She used it to push herself up further, her vision now set on the closest apple. She gave out a breath of slight exhaustion as she reached out her hand to grab the apple, her other hand gripping the branch ever so tighter to keep her in balance.

 _Almost there..._

A sudden rustling noise sounded right above the apple she was reaching for, and a creature's head with eyes of diamond stuck out from the bushy leaves.

"Holy crap!" Angel exclaimed as she flinched back in surprise, her hand losing grip on the slanted branch. She fell, shrieking as her legs clumsily hit the ground, the impact immediately causing her to fall backward onto her back.

She laid dazed for a just a second before regaining her senses, struggling to get back to her feet. Landing on her feet first may have helped ease the pain, but there was no denying that falling backwards on a sword strapped to your back hurts no matter how you cut it.

Holding her bruised back, she whipped her head up in anger and shouted, "You little punk! When I get my hands on you-"

It was then that she notice that it was holding the same apple that she had tried so hard to reach. Without much thought on the situation, it took major bites out of it until there was nothing left except for the core.

"Keheheheheh!" it laughed teasingly as he uncaringly tossed the apple core aside, landing right in front of Angel's feet, much to her frustration.

Anger flowed through the teens body, steam practically pouring out of her ears. "Oh, that's it! You're dead!"

As she prepared herself to climb the tree, the Sableye retreated back into the collection of leaves, a playful laughter receding with him. Angel pondered to herself it it was even worth at this point.

" _Is it even wise to chase these little tree trolls around? Only wasting energy."_

Angel took her hands off of the apple tree and turned to walk away, forwarding herself to the forest's exit. "I don't have time for this," she muttered under her breath.

The Sableye stuck it's head out of the tree and noticed Angel's departure. It promptly waved its hands back and fourth, trying to get the human's attention. Unfortunately, this caused the Sableye to slip off of the branch he was supported on and sent him falling out of the tree.

Angel heard the audible 'thump' that accompanied the pokemon's fall, but it deterred her not, as she kept walking without a second thought. The Sableye knew she wouldn't turn back around, it's head hanging low. But it was then that the Sableye thought of an idea. It quickly scattered back up the tree and traversed tree to tree, closing distance between it and the human.

As she kept forward, she could hear the distant rustling of the trees getting closer. She couldn't keep in the pent-up sigh she was holding in, and turned around, clearly irritated.

"OK, listen you little twerp! If you don't leave me-"

Just before she could finish her sentence, the Darkness Pokemon dropped out of the tree beside her. Angel noticed a red object clenched in its hands.

Angel narrowed her eyes and frowned. "So now your here to rub your victory in my face? Go ahead, eat the apple. I don't care." She turned to leave but was startled a little by the pokemon's cry.

"Sableye!"

She turned back to the Pokemon, the same expression of agitation on her face. But before she could retort, she wast taken by surprise by what it was doing.

The Sableye was holding the apple out to her with a huge grin on it's face.

" _It's a trap."_ Angel promptly thought.

" _It's a trap, and he's trying to prank me again. He probably works for Dusknoir."_

The thought of Dusknoir alone sent angry vibes down her spine.

Right on par with her thoughts, the Sableye knelled down and carefully placed the apple on the ground, backing away a couple of steps. "Sable?" the Sableye said, holding it's hands up as a sign of pacifism.

As much as she didn't trust it, she was no doubtingly starving, and she'd probably wouldn't find another place abundant with food for a good while...unless she was okay with eating grass. Sighing in defeat, she slowly walked forward. She made sure to keep her right hand on the hilt of her sword just in case the Sableye attempted to pull a fast one.

In response to Angel's cautionary approach, the Sableye brung it's hand to his mouth and gave out an exaggerated mock yawn.

"Alright!"

Angel gave the Sableye a warning stare before she quickly paced herself to the apple, keeping quick to grab it.

It gleamed in the sun's ray of light, and the simple sight of it made Angel's stomach growl as if it was rushing her to devour it. She took the first bite and immediately, she felt complete.

"Mmmmmmm..." she moaned as she tried to savor the taste.

Momentarily, she forgot about the Pokemon that gave it to her. She snapped herself out of her moment of tranquility, opening her eyes and laying them back on the Sableye, who was whistling to himself and looking towards the sky.

Angel gave out an exaggerated sigh and turned away slightly. "Thank you," she said as she walked away once again.

Angel was finally about to exit the forest, and all that she had been through would now pay off. She could finally-

" **Sa-sableye!"**

The unexpected cry caused Angel to nearly loose her balance, swinging herself backwards towards the noise. Lo and behold, in front of her stood the same Sableye.

"Okay. Look, Sableye. I don't have time to play 'follow the leader' right now, okay? So please for the love of ALL things EVER...stop following me." Angel said as peacefully as she could, giving the Pokemon a false smile before moving on.

A few footsteps and the rustling of tree leaves were heard right after. Angel was loosing her patience. With everything that had happened, all she wanted to do was find her friends. She had no time for any shenanigans. She was also extremely tired of stopping; all she wanted to do was move forward.

Only about a minute away from the path exit from the forest, her hope seemed to return. She had absolutely no idea how long she had been wondering through the forest. Five hours? Ten? Two days?

 _Two days...that was it_.

Then it hit her.

She had been wondering for two days consecutively, and she had completely forgotten!

She paid attention to the day's cycle, but was so absorbed in her escape that it became a distant thought to her. The sun was her only guideline at this point, and there were no watches to check the time with in the Mystery Dungeon world...at least she thought there wasn't.

Unless that Loudred back at the guild counted as a clock.

" _Heheh.._.anyways!"

She was only a good ten feet away from the way out. A quick smile formed on her face as she started to sprint, ready to be done with the forested maze she had gotten herself into.

" **Kekeheh! Sable-"**

Angel didn't even give it time to react. She turned around, anger flashing in her eyes.

"I said STOP FOLLOWING ME! I don't have time for you, do you understand me? Now go back to that **Dusknoir** master of yours, why don't yo-"

Angel cut herself off slightly, noticing the Sableye was a few feet away holding a handful of apples.

The pokemon and human stood stationary towards each other, the only change being the expression on Angel's face changing to that of slight shock. The Sableye seemed to flinch at the slightest moment that Angel made. He dropped the apples and ran off without another word.

She stood where she was for a moment, looking down the path where she once came; also the same the Sableye had fled. Only a few seconds passed before she slowly circled herself back towards the end of the path and once again began to walk to it.

She kinda felt like trash.

" _Did I go too far? I mean, maybe it wasn't working for Dusknoir...it seemed to mean well...ugh."_

She finally made it through the exit of the forest, moving a few tall patches of plants out of her path. The full force of sunlight caught her from the left, causing her to slightly reel and flinch from the massive amounts of radiance. She kept her hand halfway in front of her face to assist in shielding her eyes from the harsh rays of light.

But it didn't prevent her from experiencing the beautiful scenery that was set in front of her. The sun hung high up in the center of the sky, and the ground in front of her ended in a drop, revealing the clear, sparkly clear waters flowing below. She couldn't resist walking up to the ledge, taking in a view that has not met her vision for the longest time.

"Whoa...this is so beautiful!" Angel expressed aloud as she knelt close to the edge. She wasn't aware of the inaudible cracking that followed the action of nearing the ledge. Carefully, she sat by the cliff's edge, resting her arms against her knees.

While reminiscing the alluring picture that was shown in front of her, she accidentally brung herself back to the reality of her situation. She was lost. Grovyle and Celebi were still out there somewhere...hopefully. And she needed to find them.

She took in just a bit more of the bewitching scenery laid out over the horizon, and began to rise up to her feet when suddenly-

 _*CRACKLE*_

It all happened in a blur. Before she could assess the situation, she was just on her way to fall, the weakened cliff ledge crumbling from under her.

"Sh*t!"

Her arms instinctively lashed out, hoping to the heavens for something to keep her from descending any further.

The first swipe of her arm.

 **Miss.**

She felt her foot impact a protruding piece of rock that jutted out of the cliff's side and used it as a momentum boost upwards, breaking it in the process. She had one chance the grab the edge. She reached for it and made contact, her fingers stressing against the pressure.

She attempted to pull herself up, using her feet as leverage against the cliff, but succeeded only in breaking another piece off, the slab falling into the depths of the ocean below her. She was in slight shock, the situation meaning either life or death. And she knew which one was more plausible.

She battled to willfully pull herself up, the miniature cracks being made in the ground's foundation making her halt her attempts in fear.

"What do I do...what do I freaking-"

Her words were cut short as the small area that her left hand gripped broke off, leaving her dangling with one arm to spare. She felt her life still flashing before her. She knew that falling didn't just mean death. It meant that she would never get to see her Grovyle or her friends again. That she wouldn't be able to save Maylene, or save the world.

Her grip on the cliff-side was growing weaker by the second.

" _I can't hold on...any longer..."_

As her hand lost it's grip, she closed her eyes, hoping that it would help ease the inevitable. But just as her fingers left the edge, something wrapped around her wrist, stopping her decent into the near-afterlife.

Angel's eyes were kept closed for a small duration of time, snapping them open out of confusion. Her eyes grew even wider after noticing a dark-purple hand holding on to her. She knew exactly who it was.

The Sableye struggled as it used all of its strength in an attempt to pull Angel back onto the clifftop. But sadly, no matter how hard it tried, it seemed to never be enough, Angel's weight proving too much for it.

Then the Sableye had a brilliant idea...

Tears began to flow out of Angel's eyes as she felt the Sableye's grip around her wrist loosen, and then if voluntarily, it let go of her. She couldn't even scream. She didn't want to. She only wanted it to be over as quickly as possible.

The air that was rushing against her in her fall quickly subsided, a lightly-hued purple engulfing her body. She felt the pull of anti-gravity as she was sent hovering upwards towards the ledge and just above the Sableye. And there it was; the Sableye. grinning in all of it's pride and glory.

"Sa-sableye!" it said aloud to her.

Angel crossed her arms, giving out a shaky breath.

"Something tells me you just made a joking remark." she replied. a smile nervously stretching across her face.

The Pokemon set her down gently on solid ground, further away from the unstable edge of the cliff. She really didn't know what to say...after how she treated the Sableye earlier, Angel genuinely felt like she had no right to be rescued by the very Pokemon that she had mistreated and yelled off.

She truly felt grateful.

Just then, the Sableye turned and picked something up from behind it. It walked up to the teenaged human, it's hands behind it's back as if _hiding something_.

"Sa-sable-sableye!" it said, bringing it's hands in front of her.

 **And it was.**

Angel couldn't help but smile as the Sableye presented her with another apple. She humbly accepted it, reaching her hand out to pat the Pokemon lightly on the head.

"You have absolutely no idea how grateful I am for you choosing to save me. Thank you." Angel said as she bent down to pick it up and gave it a hug.

"S-SABLE!" it cried, comically squirming around and trying to pry itself from Angel's grasp.

"I'm so sorry for how I treated you earlier...I just thought..."

Angel contemplated on revealing who she thought he was working with again, but decided to leave the thought alone.

"...Never mind. Thanks again, buddy." she finished as she put down the Sableye, and turned away, looking back a few times before walking into the clearing. " _That Sableye deserves more than a simple thank you...but what could I possibly give it in return?"_ she thought.

It wasn't long before she heard quick footsteps coming from behind her.

She didn't hesitate to look back this time and saw that the Sableye was again following her.

It ran up to her and wrapped it's arms around her leg, halting her in her steps. Alternatively thinking of shaking the Sableye off, she chose to let him beg, his grip on her leg growing a bit tighter as he incoherently cried out to her in its language.

"You want to come with me...don't you?" Angel asked, looking down on the desperate-looking Sableye.

It nodded its head vigorously, letting go of her leg and falling onto its knees. It put its hands together and shook them up and down. Angel gave out another sigh of the many she had this day.

"Fine. You can come...but on ONE condition!" she exclaimed, holding up a finger in the Sableye's face.

"Sable?" it replied nervously, biting softly on it's hand.

Angel grinned as she saw this, finally seeing this as a positive to get her point across. "You can't pull any fast ones on me. Which means you are obligated to be by my side. You also can't scare or frighten me on this entire journey. Now, do we have a deal?"

Angel waited on an acknowledgment, watching the Shadow Pokemon press it's thumb and pointing finger on its chin in thought.

"You have 5 seconds to agree!" Angel said, putting her hands on her hips in her unwillingness to wait. And that was when the Sableye nodded it's head vigorously.

"Good."

With the agreement settled, the human and pokemon walked side-by-side, and into the grassy clearing in front of them. And Angel couldn't hold back another joyful smile she had been trying to hide ever since the Sableye rescued her.


End file.
